A new report on the flow of tourism dollars in and out of seven Outer Banks communities is beefing up previous estimates of one island’s financial ranking in the state’s roster of tourism heavyweights. The Hatteras Island Economic Impact assessment, funded by the Outer Banks VB, is a detailed exploration of how, and how much, the island communities of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras Village contribute to Dare County and the state of North Carolina.
“Our goal with the study was simply to equip the public and our lawmakers with the facts,” explains Lee Nettles, executive director of the Outer Banks VB. “The seven villages of Hatteras Island make up roughly a quarter of our tourism business in Dare County, generating $204 million dollars in expenditures, and contributing almost $20 million in state and local taxes in 2011 alone. Considering that most of the Island’s visitation is from out-of-state, these tax dollars are new to N.C.; this is true economic development.”